Asus Eee PC Impresses

The One Laptop Per Child XO laptop may be getting lots of attention as the Give 1, Get 1 program is set to begin. But the Asus Eee PC, designed for kids and older, novice PC users is garnering very good early reviews. 

Laptop Magazine says the $400 Linux-OS PC is versatile and easy to use. It's not meant to go head-to-head with bargain Windows-based laptops. It's meant to be a simple-to-use PC for surfing the web, making Skype calls, and writing and saving some work documents. Unlike the OLPC XO laptop and the Intel Classmate, which are designed to provide children in the developing world with access to computers, Asus is selling the Eee PC to one and all.  

Some key features:

•  Tabbed interface that offers six simple, clear options: Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings, and Favorites.

•  7-inch, 800x480-pixel display; 4GB flash hard drive

• Recognizes peripherals well, including keyboards, mice, and cameras, and displays well when hooked up to an external monitor

• Internet area launches the Firefox browser, Skype, Wikipedia, and instant messaging programs, including AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN.

• OpenOffice.org 2.0's work apps, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. All can be saved on a USB drive and worked with on a Windows PC. There's also a file-manager utility, a PDF reader, a Notes app, and a Thunderbird email client. 

What the Eee PC does not do:

• Work with iTunes and iPods. The media player handles MP3 and WMA stored on an SD memory card.

• Work with broadband modems. The PC only connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi hotspots, so it doesn't work with 3G cell phones that work as modems or USB-powered modems.

Check out the full reviews in Laptop and Cnet in the links below. Initial looks credit the Eee PC as a good extra PC to have on hand when you've got more than a few kids vying for computer and web time every day after school. For the price, it seems to deliver everything it is designed to do with simplicity and in a portable, light package.

LINKS: Asus Eee PC 701: Pound for pound, the best value-priced notebook on the market [Laptop]

Asus Eee PC 4G [Cnet]